With the 2021 NFL schedule dropping, it’s time to break down each game for each team and rank the games in difficulty from 1-17, with 17 being the least difficult. One wrinkle this year is that it’s the first 17-game season ever. For this piece, we’ll be looking at the Chicago Bears 2021 schedule.
Chicago Bears Schedule Breakdown
1. Week 7 @Tampa Bay
The reigning Super Bowl champs brought everybody who started the big game back for another run and kick off our Bears schedule breakdown. Hosting the Bears in Week 7, they’ll also get the chance to exact revenge for what was Tom Brady’s worst (or at least most embarrassing) game last season. That the Bears might even have a rookie under center by the time this game rolls around just adds to the level of difficulty.
2. Week 9 @Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh was undefeated through Week 11 of last largely on the strength of its defense. They were 15th in passing and 32nd in rushing offense. But defensively, they ranked third and 11th, respectively. They also appear to have upgraded their ground attack, though, with so many changes along the line, it’s still a question mark. The problem is Ben Roethlisberger and those wide receivers could have a field day with the Bears new-look secondary in one of four primetime games for the Bears this season.
3. Week 11 Baltimore Ravens
One of the Bears biggest weaknesses in recent years has been against the power run game. It’s mostly affected them when they were missing Akiem Hicks or Eddie Goldman, but it hasn’t always been stout with them either. Add in the dynamic Lamar Jackson, some upgraded weapons, and Matt Nagy’s record coming out of the bye and it’s easy to see why this game is among the most challenging for the Bears this upcoming season.
4. Week 1 @Las Angeles Rams
The NFL schedule makers did the Bears no favors this season and it starts right out of the gates as they take on the Rams, in primetime, for the third year in a row. This time, however, L.A. will be in the capable hands of Matthew Stafford. He should shrink the gap between what had been an inconsistent offense and an all-world defense. Does their familiarity help Stafford and the Rams or the Bears in this situation?
5. Week 14 @Green Bay Packers
This game should probably be higher on this list given the Bears haven’t beaten the Packers since 2018. Their quarterback (for the time being), Aaron Rodgers, is also the reigning MVP and has taken personal pride in whooping on the Bears. The questions along their offensive line and in the wide receiving corps should be answered by this time too. This game is also on primetime.
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6. Week 16 @Seattle Seahawks
The Bears travel to the Great Northwest to take on their “would-be” quarterback in Russell Wilson and the Seahawks on a short week. They will have just played on Monday Night Football when they have to prepare for this game in a stadium the Bears haven’t won in since 2007. Who knows who will be under center for Chicago, but Wilson and Seattle could look to prove a point here.
7. Week 6 Green Bay Packers
The first matchup with the Packers should actually be the easiest; emphasis on should. The Bears have to hope the Packers are still tweaking the offensive line, that Devin Funchess doesn’t prove to be a capable second option, and that new defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, has as much success as he’s always had. It still might not be enough if Rodgers is still in Green Bay.
8. Week 3 @Cleveland Browns
This matchup would have been lower if this was last season’s Bears schedule breakdown. But the Browns, coming off of their first playoff appearance in nearly two decades, aren’t a pushover anymore. With the players added in free agency and the 2021 NFL Draft, they’re a real contender on paper. And they utilize that dreaded power run game as well with a pair of lethal backs in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
9. Week 8 San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco is a lot like the Bears, or at least like they used to be. A strong, elite defense and an offense limited by its quarterback. The difference is how much success (and offensive production) the 49ers get despite Jimmy Garoppolo. But will he even be the starter by this point? Or will Trey Lance be under center to add another wrinkle to the 49ers incredible ground attack?
10. Week 18 @Minnesota Vikings
The Bears end a brutal schedule with a tough one on the road against a divisional opponent that will likely be fighting for a playoff spot. Minnesota upgraded its woeful offensive line that still held up long enough for Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson to produce last season. The latter could especially have a field day in this one against the retooled Bears secondary. Though, they haven’t beaten the Bears in Minnesota since 2017.
11. Week 13 Arizona Cardinals
Do you know what else gives the Bears (and plenty of other teams) fits? Mobile quarterbacks. More specifically, the patient types that scramble to throw first and run second. Kyler Murray is a veritable Russell Wilson clone and the Bears could be getting a preview in this one. Will the sheer pace of the Arizona offense overwhelm a Bears defense in transition?
12. Week 5 @Las Vegas Raiders
Another quarterback the Bears had been linked to in recent years, Derek Carr and the Raiders might be due some comeuppance. Josh Jacobs ran for 123 yards on this defense a couple of years ago; most of which came after Hicks went down. The Raiders made some questionable choices in free agency and the 2021 NFL Draft, particularly along the offensive line and wide receiving corps.
13. Week 17 New York Giants
The team that the Bears traded with to select Justin Fields, the Giants did some major loading up on wide receivers signing Kenny Golladay in free agency and then taking Kadarius Toney in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Daniel Jones, though, will be the determining factor on if they made the right choice. Perhaps even more than Fields himself who, if all goes according to plan, won’t see much action this season.
14. Week 2 Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals should be much improved over last season. They added to their offensive line and receiving corps. Their defense got some new pieces. But the most important thing is the return of Joe Burrow. He alone has them even this high because this is still a bad roster outside of the offensive skill positions.
15. Week 15 Minnesota Vikings
Part of why the Week 18 matchup could be as spicy as we’re predicting is because the Bears will have faced the Vikings less than a month before. At this point in the season, both of these teams will be what they are (contenders, pretenders, or lost causes). That doesn’t mean this won’t be an exciting game as these usually are.
16. Week 12 @Detroit Lions
The divisional opponent the Bears have had the most success against traded for a quarterback that wasn’t good enough for one of the best offensive minds. Can Jared Goff elevate an offense that includes Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman, and D’Andre Swift? How many of those guys have ever stayed healthy for an entire season?
17. Week 4 Detroit Lions
No disrespect was meant by putting the Lions as the final (two) games of our Bears schedule breakdown. But the fact of the matter is it took 21 second-half points (to the Bears seven) by the Stafford-led Lions to pull that one out, their first win over the Bears since 2017. You can bet the Bear defense is raring to get some payback. It’s unlikely Goff could deliver the same.
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